"And one as close as that, you probably think about the little 'what ifs'.

"They're the things that run through every player's mind when you first sit in the sheds after a narrow loss."

The Chiefs' only try of the night came through winger Lelia Masaga in the 14th minute, but five penalties and one conversion from flyhalf Aaron Cruden were enough to keep them in second spot on the table.

All Black Cruden was meant to have had an easy night on the bench, with coach Dave Rennie eager to give the overworked playmaker a rest.

But when replacement Gareth Anscombe was ruled out with a broken toe before kick-off, the Chiefs were forced to throw Cruden back into the starting line-up.

The Force made a perfect start with winger Patrick Dellit making the most of a horror pass from Matt Hodgson by toeing the ball forward twice before touching down.

The Chiefs looked rusty in the dewy conditions, but were aided by whistle-happy referee Mike Fraser, who penalised the Force seven times in the opening 26 minutes.

Cruden capitalised by nailing four penalties in the first half, but a second try to Dellit in the 62nd minute closed the gap to just one point.

The sin-binning of prop Kieran Longbottom in the 72nd minute hurt the Force, but they continued to create chances at the death, only to let them slip through their fingers.

Foley said he was proud of the second-half fightback, especially with the team coming off a six-day turnaround and a long trek to New Zealand.

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